I cannot stand having dirty feet, which is funny considering how much I love being barefoot. There is just something about walking through my house with unclean feet that makes me cringe. Today, I was doing a painting project with some friends for my church's upcoming youth camp next week. After they left there was still a ton of detail work to be done. Paintbrush is hand, I set out for the garage. After a 2 hours of laying on my stomach, my side, sitting cross-legged, and 20 more uncomfortable positions, I was covered in garage dust, spray paint leftovers and grime. Not only that, but at 8 o'clock at night it's still in the nineties outside, making my garage a sauna. Caked in sweat, paint and dust, a shower could not wait until morning. As I rinsed off all the grime, watched the layers of dirt run down the drain, I realized what a beautiful analogy I had just lived.
Sin is like dust in the life of the Christian. When we first came to Christ, we were dirty head to toe. He washed us with His blood and made us completely clean. Yet when we choose to sin afterwards, the film of sin coats our lives once more. It feels uncomfortable and should make us cringe. We know it's not supposed to be there. Yet we still choose to let it cling to us, tracking it through the "homes" of our lives. Still this is not the only dust we carry. Sometimes past hurts and the dust from the roads of our daily journey gets kicked up in our face. Other times, the grimy sweat of our hard work and busy schedules from deathly hot days dries upon our skin, making us feel sticky, filthy and reminding us how tired we truly are.
The point is, sin, experience and life in general is dusty. Day by day, layer by layer we get covered in the grime of everyday living. Yet so often, we put off taking our shower until morning. We put off the time in God's Presence for tomorrow, when we feel better, when the morning light is new and when it adapts more to our schedules. We forget how the Presence of God renews us, washing away all the dust we have gathered. Is the dust of my sin clinging to me, or is I that am clinging to it? Am I wallowing in the filth of the past or in the hard times I am facing rather than letting the cleansing touch of God wash me clean? I would never walk through my house with dusty feet. Why would I then walk through life uncomfortable and disgusting, running from any hope of being clean? I want to keep myself clean before God and before man. Thing is, I alone cannot clean myself. I need daily time in the Presence and Word of God, renewing my spirit and cleansing my soul. It's amazing the revelations God gives from painting projects and dusty, hot garages on summer nights. 
